TriDAR

TriDAR, or Triangulation and LIDAR Automated Rendezvous and Docking,[1] is a relative navigation vision system developed by Neptec Design Group and funded by the Canadian Space Agency and NASA.

TriDAR's proprietary software uses the geometric information contained in successive 3D images to match against the known shape of the target object and calculate its position and orientation.

This laser-based system tracks retro reflectors located on the ISS to provide bearing, range and closing rate information.

During rendezvous, TriDAR entered shape based tracking which provided full 6 degree of freedom guidance and closing rate.

Using only knowledge about the target spacecraft's geometry and 3D data acquired from the sensor, the system computes the 6 Degree Of Freedom (6DOF) relative pose directly.

This configuration takes advantage of the complementary nature of these two imaging technologies to provide 3D data at both short and long range without compromising on performance.

TriDAR's capabilities for planetary exploration have been demonstrated recently during field trials in Hawaii held by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

For these tests, TriDAR was mounted on Carnegie Mellon University's Scarab lunar rover and enabled it to automatically navigate to its destination.

Once the rover arrived at its destination, TriDAR was used to acquire high resolution 3D images of the surrounding area, searching for ideal drill sites to obtain lunar samples.

TriDAR technology can also be applied to numerous terrestrial applications such as automated vehicles, hazard detection, radiotherapy patient positioning, assembly of large structure as well as human body tracking for motion capture or video game controls.